


Sleep Aids

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [10]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 16:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1654823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the nightmares hit, it's always good to have a Danny to wake up to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep Aids

Steve kicked in his sleep, sometimes.

Normally, it would be exactly the kind of quirk that would drive Danny up the absolute wall. He had enough violence in his life during daylight hours, thank you very much. He shouldn't have to worry about bruised shins during the few blessed hours of unconsciousness he managed to steal away from the island's criminal population.

The thing was, Steve normally slept lightly enough to be in control of every movement he made. When he wasn't ... Danny rarely got enough details to know where Steve's head had taken him. He just knew it wasn't good.

000

The kick may be what had jarred him awake, but it was the little distressed sounds Steve was making that had Danny rocketing into consciousness. It had been a long time since the last one, but the case they'd just wrapped up had been a bad one for Steve. A homicidal former SEAL, of all things, who'd had some sort of creepy heart-to-heart with Steve while the rest of the team had gotten the hostages out and Danny had circled around to shoot him from behind. Steve wouldn't talk about whatever the bastard had said to him, which had been a pretty big red flag that something like this was going to happen.

"Steve." Danny pushed himself up on his elbow, wrapping his other arm tight around Steve as he leaned close to his partner's ear. "Steve, babe. It's me. It's Danno. You're okay."

He'd tried other methods for getting the man he loved free of his nightmares – shaking was a spectacularly bad idea, by the way, in case anyone who had their own SEAL at home was curious – but this was the only one that ever seemed to work. Stubborn idiot couldn't be _forced_ out of his nightmares, oh no. He had to walk out of them himself.

The restlessness stopped almost immediately, and soon after that Steve's breathing evened out. Danny kept murmuring soothing nonsense the whole time, rubbing a hand up and down Steve's arm like he used to do with Gracie when she got scared, until his partner finally sucked in a sharp breath and opened his eyes. Then he closed them again, swearing under his breath.

Relief made Danny feel a little lightheaded as he pressed a kiss against Steve's head. "Not quite descriptive enough, babe. If you want, we can work on expanding your vocabulary a little."

A ghost of a smile flashed across Steve's face, gone too quickly. "I'm pretty sure I'd be the one expanding your vocabulary. You've never had a CO have to come up with new words to explain the full depth of your stupidity before."

Knowing they both needed it, Danny pulled his partner sideways into his arms. Steve tightened the hug, face pressed against Danny's neck, and for a long time there was only the faint sound of classical music from the MP3 player beside the bed.

Finally, Steve's grip eased just a little. "I'm sorry," he murmured against Danny's skin.

Danny moved back only far enough to see Steve's face. "For letting such an obvious psycho get under your skin, even for a second? Because that's the only part of all this you should even _think_ about apologizing for."

Steve exhaled shakily, leaning his forehead against his partner's. "Who knows what would have happened to me if I hadn't come home?"

Chest constricting, Danny pulled him close again. "Steven J. McGarrett, that is by far the stupidest thing you have ever said to me. And don't think I don't keep a list."

"I didn't mean it like that." For some incomprehensible reason, Steve's voice was a little easier now as he pressed a kiss against Danny's shoulder. "I would never have hurt civilians."

"Damn right you wouldn't have."

He felt Steve's smile, more real this time, but it still didn't last long enough. "The military... becomes your reason for being. It gives you purpose. If you're cut loose, all you have left is the violence."

The thought actually shed some insight into Steve's early days with Five-O, when the moments of crazy happened on a much more regular basis than they did now. Danny wished he could go back in time and drop some understanding on his former self. "He could have decided to help people. You did."

Steve's voice was quiet and just a little sad. He hated it. "It's hard to do when you're alone."

Danny slid his fingers up to cup the back of his partner's neck. "You're not alone."

"No." Finally, Steve's muscles relaxed all the way. "Lucky for me, I tripped across this stubborn haole with an unhealthy affection for proper police procedure."

He pulled back just enough to capture Danny's mouth in a kiss, tender and slow but clearly not planning on going back to sleep any time soon. Danny let himself be convinced, the heat of it rolling through him as various parts of his body woke up in immediate agreement with Steve's plan.

Just to make it clear he wasn't a complete pushover, he rolled them both so he was the one on top. When they broke apart – he could kiss Steve forever, but there was so much other delightful territory to cover – he turned his attention to the long, lickable line of his partner's throat. "You do realize you radically altered your entire life back then just to piss me off, right?"

He felt Steve's breath hitch as much as he heard it. "Best decision I ever made."

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


End file.
